Growing Feelings
by CaffeineCrazed
Summary: Hermione initially feels annoyed by his presense in her sanctuary, but thise feelings can change and grow. A story of the romance between Hermione and Krum, set during GOF and after.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the world of Harry Potter. Those rights belong to J K Rowling and Warner Bros. **

**Chapter 1**

_Why must they giggle so incessantly? Really what could possibly be so funny or entertaining that they felt the need to continue the noise for an hour and a half straight._

Hermione had made a valiant attempt at ignoring his fan girls but really this was more than anyone could take. Couldn't he just leave, or get them to leave, or cast a silencing spell on them, anything really! But no, the stupid quidditch player just sat there, seemingly engrossed in his book completely unaffected by their bloody tittering!

She'd tried everything, clearing her throat, huffing, tutting not a single bleeding one of them would take the hint. They would just roll their eyes at her before going back to oggling at him. Hermione was at breaking point.

"Really! This is a library, if your not going to study then leave!"

Again they just rolled their eyes! Unbelievable, it was quite clear that they were not going to leave until the man himself did. Marching up to his desk, where he was still busy reading despite her outburst, she slammed a rather large tomb down on the desk beside him. Krum looked up shocked.

"If you insist on dragging your insanely annoying entourage about with you, will you at least keep them quiet! Some of us are trying to use the library for it's intended purpose and we're not all as oblivious to their tittering as you!"

The extremely surprised expression on his face would have been funny if Hermione were not so very annoyed. It was akin to a goldfish struggling to breath out of water and he seemed to be having trouble speaking. After a moment his cheeks coloured and he had the decency to look ashamed.

"I apologise. I do not vish vor you to be disturbed."

He turned his head towards the gaggle of girls standing by the bookshelves.

"Ladies I vould appreciate it iv you vould leave, I do not vish to trouble anyvon."

The girls glared daggers at Hermione and pouted at Krum but all the same dragged themselves out of the library. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as peace and quiet was once again restored to her beloved sanctuary. She turned to Krum and found him staring at her.

"I apologise vonce again, I am used to that sort ov thing now, I do not hear it anymore."

Grateful to him for making the girls leave and feeling slightly ashamed at her behaviour towards him when it wasn't really his fault, Hermione nodded.

"It's okay, it must be rather terrible to be around that constantly, I don't blame you for learning to block them out. I just wish I had the same ability! I'm sorry too for my behaviour towards you, I was irritated by them but that's no excuse for shouting at you."

There was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth which Hermione speculated was probably a smile.

"Is okay but could make it up to me by sitting with me."

A soft pink tinge swept across Hermiones cheeks and all the confidence she'd felt previously seemed to desert her.

"Umm, well, I, a-alright then."

She cringed internally at her pitiful reply. Well aware of how meek she sounded and the sharp contrast it was to her previous words. Krums eyes filled with mirth at the stuttered reply. He stood from his seat and made his way over to her own table, collecting her things and promptly depositing them next to his before pulling out the chair next to him for her.

The colour that had begun to fade from her cheeks after his request returned with a vengance at his actions. Taking her seat, she quickly immersed herself in the book on transfiguration she had previously been trying to read, trying not to let her pleasure at his gentlemanly behaviour become too apparent.

Krum followed her lead and he too returned to his book. They sat like that in quiet companionship for several hours. Despite their lack of conversation, Hermione found herself rather enjoying his presence. Although every time she looked up from her book his eyes were trained firmly on his, she could not shake the feeling of his watching her and what's more, she didn't mind. Not at all.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the world of Harry Potter. Those rights belong to J K Rowling and Warner Bros.**

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**Chapter 2**

Sitting together and studying in relative silence became something of a habit for Hermione and Krum in the following days. The fan girls left him in peace when she was around and he seemed to want to take full advantage of that fact. Hermione didn't mind, she was glad to have found someone that seemed to enjoy the library as much as she and who could appreciate the value of a comfortable silence.

Occasionally, they would take a break from studying to converse on a particularly interesting bit of transfiguration or an interesting combination of potion ingredients one of them had found. Although his English left some to be desired, Krum managed to get his points across and Hermione found him to be rather intelligent. To his credit, he never once brought up the subject of the Tournament and the impending first task nor, to her immense relief, quidditch.

The two spent many a tranquil hour in the library together and before very long, Hermione found herself marking pages of books to discuss with him during their next library session. As the weeks went by, Hermione found herself more concerned for Victor and his plans for the first task. When Harry told her that Karkaroff had found out about the dragons also she felt a deep sense of relief.

Eventually the day before the task came about and Hermione found him at their usual table in the library, looking rather tense. Although they seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to speak of the tournament, Hermione believed that an exception could be made, given the expression on his face.

"How are you feeling?"

Her question did not need clarifying, it was obvious what she was referring to. Victors shoulders seemed to relax a little and he gave her a small but grateful smile.

"I am nervos but am not unvamiliar vith these sorts ov things."

It was true, when Hermione thought about it, international quidditch wasn't really so different. Certainly more people where present at any quidditch game he played than would be there watching the task and one couldn't deny that a well aimed bludger from a world class beater could do as much damaged as anything else. He was a seeker after all, hopefully those well honed quick reactions would keep him out of too much trouble.

Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. After everything she had gone through with Harry, she knew that sometimes such a small gesture of comfort and support could be worth more than a thousand pretty words. Victor moved his hand to cover her own and brought it to his lips, placing a light kiss on her knuckles. Hermione fought the urge to swoon like one of his insipid fan girls and felt her cheeks flare up at both Victors actions and the thought of behaving like one of the annoying twits.

Victor allowed her hand to slip from his grasp and made no comment on her obvious reaction to his kiss, but the smug look in his eyes was there for anyone to see. Anyone accept Hermione that is, who was busy trying to avoid his gaze by hiding behind her latest book.

Nothing more was spoken between the two as they sat there that evening, both absorbed in there own thoughts about each others actions and reactions. Without either realising it, curfew came and the library began to close. Both cleared their things up and walked to the door in unison.

Upon reaching the door, they stopped and stood about awkwardly, neither quite knowing what to say to the other. Both unsure as to whether the change in their comfortable relationship their earlier actions had brought about should be acknowledged.

With a look of determination on his face, Victor picked up her free hand and brought it to his lips once again. This time with a deliberate slowness, giving her plenty of chance to pull away. He held it millimetres away from his lips, his breath ghosting across the back of her hand, waiting for her to meet his gaze.

Taking a rather shaky breath, Hermione met his somewhat intense gaze with one of her own. Victor closed the distance between her knuckles and his lips for the second time that day. However, unlike his previous gesture, this time his lips lingered. Neither looked away from the other, their gazes remaining locked together.

Eventually Victor removed his lips from her skin, but continued to hold her hand just below his mouth. His next words were a whisper, adding to the intense atmosphere around them.

"Goodnight, Hermoninny. Sveet dreams."

Placing her hand gently back down by her side. He turned on his heel, walking away. Hermione stood rooted to the spot. She had always prided herself on her ability to understand most everything, yet with all her considerable brain power, she found herself helpless to understand her own feelings in that moment. Although she was completely alone now in the dark corridor, a whisper of her own still escaped.

"Goodnight."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the world of Harry Potter. Those rights belong to J K Rowling and Warner Bros.**

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**Chapter 3**

The night before the first task was a sleepless one for Hermione. First and foremost because two people she cared about were about to go head to head with a pair of giant, fire-breathing dragons. Secondly, because she had no idea what to think of her recently growing feelings for one Bulgarian Seeker. The previous evening had caused an undeniable shift in their relationship.

At first he'd irritated her. He invaded her sanctuary and brought with him a bunch of annoying groupies. She's judged him to be arrogant, keeping the girls with him as a constant boost for, what she suspected, was a rather large ego. Over time her irritation grew, finally coming to boil on that day that seemed so very long ago now. How very wrong she had been about him.

She'd been shocked to find him just as annoyed by the girls as she, but somewhat more tolerant, having cultivated the ability to block them out. A skill which she still very much envied. It became obvious to Hermione the more time they spent together that he was, in fact, down to earth and intelligent. They got along so well, she couldn't remember the last time someone encouraged her love of knowledge the way he had. Victor had never tried to use her for his own gain as even her best friends had been known to do. Instead he valued her opinions and gave her his own. They could sit in silence for hours and it would never be uncomfortable. They could spend time together while doing their own things. From being irritated with him she had come to value him as one of her most important friends and now this.

She didn't know what this was and ignorance was not a comfortable state of being for Hermione. It was only a kiss on the hand, well two actually. It couldn't really be considered as more than a platonic gesture, but the intent behind it felt like so much more. The first time had been out of gratefulness; that she understood, that she cared. The second..., she had no idea why he'd done it the second time.

She could be reading the situation wrong, of course. It would be unusual for her, but so was confusion, an emotion she was feeling particularly strongly at this moment. Neither Harry nor Ron had ever kissed her hand but that was to be expected. No matter how much she might love them, refined was not really an adjective that could be applied to either of them. Still, the intense look in his eyes, the way his lips lingered on her skin for so long. Her knees went weak at the thought. Regardless of what Victors feelings for her might be, she couldn't lie to herself, hers were certainly no longer just those of a friend.

What a problem that presented. There were so many reasons why feeling more than friendship for him was a bad idea. The first of course being that she had no proof that the feelings were reciprocated. Yes, they had had a moment upon leaving the library, but moments came and went and were no solid evidence of romantic intentions, at least to Hermione's mind. Even if he did think of her as more than a friend, he was three years older than her, he lived in a different country! She had three more years of school and he had a career as a professional quidditch player with a busy training schedule. How could a relationship like that last?

Her alarm went off and she dragged herself out of bed. One look in the room cemented her suspicion that she was likely to have bags under her eyes all day. Dressing and heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast, she resolved not to think on it today. Instead she would just support Harry and Victor and hope they both made it through this task okay.

Sitting next to Harry at breakfast, Hermione was bizarrely reminded of his first quidditch game in first year.

"You should eat something."

If he hadn't been about to go and face a dragon, the incredulous look he gave her would have been funny. Instead it just made her worry more.

"You know what to do Harry. You have have some faith in yourself, you've practised the charm a million times."

"And how many of those times did I actually get it right, Hermione?"

"Pretty much everytime towards the end, actually."

"Pretty much, eh. Well that's something."

Hermione knew she was no good at this. Ron was the one who did this normally. He did the pep talk, she provided the comforting facts. Unfortunately Ron was currently being an arse so both tasks fell to her, and it seemed she was failing.

When the Champions were called to go to the tent they'd set up for them, Harry looked as nervous as ever and Hermione felt worse. Finishing her toast she decided to follow him and try once more. Plus, she wanted to wish Victor good luck.

Peeping her head into the Champions tent it was clear that Harry wasn't the only one who felt facing a dragon was a little outside of their capability. Cedric looked like he was about to make a run for it, Fleur looked sick and Victor looked more serious than she had ever seen him before. Rushing in she wrapped her arms around Harry, giving him a comforting squeeze. He gave her an awkward pat on the back, but she knew he was grateful for the support.

As the officials entered the tent and shooed her away, she mouthed a 'good luck' to Victor. His response was a quick twitch of his lips but Hermione had come to realise that, with the Bulgarian, less was always more. She made her way to the stands quickly, not knowing who would be first.

Watching the task was terrifying. The skin of her palms began to bleed as she dug her nails into her hands harder. Those moments waiting for Harry's Firebolt to arrive were some of the most tense of her life and watching the blind dragon crush her own eggs and almost Victor as well had her on the edge of her seat.

Hermione didn't even pay attention as the scores were given out, she was just waiting to go and check that the two of them were ok. She jumped as a hand fell on her shoulder. Glancing up, Ron's startlingly bright hair filled her vision and as she took in hhis sheepish expression she felt extreme irritation rise up inside her. Without waiting to hear what he had to say, Hermione began to drag him towards the Champions Tent.

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes as she watched the awkward reunion between her two best friends. Taking her eyes off the two idiots, her eyes searched out the other important person in the room. He sat two the side of the tent, blessedly unhurt and looking at her with that intense look that she was coming to love. She offered him a smile and cocked her head in the direction of the castle. Getting the message, he nodded. He would be in the Library later, there she would congratulate him properly.

Realising that Harry and Victor had tied for first place in points removed a huge weight from her chest. This way she didn't have to feel guilty about being happy for either of them. She was coming to the realisation that she was becoming almost as close to Victor as to Harry. Granted she didn't have the huge history of friendship and years of knowledge of Victor that she had of Harry, but she had never clicked with Harry the way she sometimes did with Harry.

"Hermione!"

Ron shouting at her brought her back to the present and she joined the reunited duo on their way back to the castle. The trio laughing, joking, plotting and planning, the way they were supposed to be. All resentment between Harry and Ron had been forgotten and all seemed right with the world.

**AN: Thank you to BrightestWitchOfHerAge16 for being the first person to favourite both this story and me. Please read and review, constructive criticism is appreciated! **


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